


Of Smoke and Flowers

by HeartsFate



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rare Pairings, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:14:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23987953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeartsFate/pseuds/HeartsFate
Summary: A collection of one-shots written for the pairing of Reno and Aerith Gainsbourgh. Ratings and lengths will vary. I'll tag things accordingly as I write more. Simply a place to dump any Aerith/Reno one shots I may write.#1 - Aerith basks in one final moment
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Reno
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	1. A Moment to Last

Aerith stirred, a content sigh escaping her lips as the feel of his warm breath hit her neck. He held her tightly against him, his arms allowing her to feel safe and secure. Lately that feeling was far and few between the closer she reached her destination. Fear was a prominent feeling now, though she tried to hide it from the others. And yet, despite everything with Shinra and Jenova and Sephiroth. Stolen moments like these eased her mind. 

Reno grumbled in his sleep, shifting slightly to draw her closer. She turned taking in his handsome features. It always amused her how different he appeared without that smirking grin or mischievously defiant eyes. 

She reached up, brushing away the limp red spikes that had fallen forward while they slept.  
With gentle fingers, she traced the contours of his face beginning by soothing the worry lines from his forehead and gently brushing over his closed eyelids. His eyes moved beneath her touch. She wasn’t foolish to believe he still slept, but she allowed him to pretend as she continued to follow her path. 

Tracing the bridge of his nose, she gave the tip a gentle tap before moving on. She ran her finger along the lines of his lips, soft beneath her gentle caress. They were many things, deadly and fearless when facing opponents. Egotistical and confident. Sweet yet sinful when he wanted nothing more than to devour her. And she loved each and every bit of it. 

Aerith continued her silent exploration, returning to the red markings she’d left for last. They were such a prominent feature and yet remained a mystery to her. She’d never asked the meaning behind the markings. Nor did he ever offer any sort of explanation. Maybe there wasn’t one. Maybe they were simply one of those silly tattoos you got in your youth because you thought they were cool. Or maybe it was something much more meaningful.One day she’ll learn the story, even if it is something silly.

Crystalline blue eyes finally opened, “well good morning to you too, princess,” Reno greeted, voice rife with sleep. 

“Morning,” she broke her silence, allowing herself to be drawn on top of him. 

His lips curled up in that infuriating smirk of his as he took her in. He reached up and cupped her face with a gloveless hand. Her eyes fluttered shut at the touch, his thumb brushing over the red tint on her cheek as he leaned up to claim her lips. 

She melted into his embrace, wishing for this moment to last forever. For once she wanted to ignore everything, to ignore their responsibilities to the world around them. 

At this moment they were just a couple enjoying a blissful morning together. Not the remaining Cetra meant to prevent the destruction of the Planet or a Shinra work dog meant to bring her back to fulfill some power hungry companies stupid purpose. She didn’t want to think about how this may be one of their last moments together.

They were simply Aerith and Reno, a little flower girl who’d fallen in love with some slum thug with somewhat of a heart of gold.


	2. Trust in Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There were a few things very different about tonight. First was the seriousness in his tone, which was rarely there. Secondly was the looming presence of the cloaked shadows. There weren’t many but they circled overhead like sharks, weaving between the rafters as though watching and waiting.

“I need you to trust me,” the man’s breath against the outer shell of her ear caused her to shiver. Reno’s hand gently covered her mouth as he pulled her back and away from her flower patch. 

Any other day Aerith would have teased him with the idea to be childish and lick his palm. Or maybe even take a playful nip to get him to remove his hand. 

There were a few things very different about tonight. First was the seriousness in his tone, which was rarely there. Secondly was the looming presence of the cloaked shadows. There weren’t many but they circled overhead like sharks, weaving between the rafters as though watching and waiting. 

She wondered if he was able to see them too.

“Maybe he was wrong,” Reno continued to mutter under his breath. She lightly tapped against his thigh, a silent promise to remain quiet. The red haired Turk slowly removed his hands allowing her a chance to put a little distance between them, though she didn’t move too far. 

“Is something wrong?”

His eyes remained on the closed double doors of the broken down church, though she knew he was just as focused on her. She waited a second more before shrugging and stepping away to return to her flowers when he still hadn’t given her an answer. 

The hand on her wrist made her pause, turning back to the normally chatty Turk. With his free hand just over his ear, he listened to the voice coming from his comm, eyes narrowing dangerously. Before Aerith could protest he’d pulled them through the open doorway in the back. Reno hid them amongst the shadows, his back against the wall with Aerith pulled securely to his chest. Just overheard she could see one of the shadows had followed them. 

The Turks’ hold on her tightened as the door lurched open, the sound of heavy footsteps followed shortly after. 

“Empty,” one of the intruders scoffed. 

Aerith jumped as a crash sounded from the room. 

“Think he lied to us?” 

There was no reply at first, just the shuffling of the group as they roamed the dilapidated room. Someone chuckled. Aerith found herself leaning closer to Reno, her forehead resting against what was exposed of his chest as she tried to make herself smaller. They sounded so close. 

“Nah, think she’s just run away. Spread out. Check outside. Check the back. The little flower girl’s here somewhere.” 

They continued to listen to the men as they moved about in the church. Aerith’s grip on the lapels of Reno’s jacket tightened, silently hoping and praying for the men to go away. 

What were they doing here anyway? What could they possibly want with her? 

She’d be useless in any sort of attempt to fight with her staff and materia still by her little garden patch. From Reno’s reaction they weren’t Shinra employees. If Shinra had wanted her already, he’d have taken her in himself. 

Aerith jolted from her thoughts at the gentle touch on her back. She appreciated the gesture as Reno’s hand continued to caress her in an attempt to sooth her nerves. 

And it had nearly worked. 

Just as Aerith felt herself calm down, a greasy looking young man walked through the opened door beside them. She held her breath, waiting for the man to notice them huddled in the shadows. Reno’s hand stopped, slowly sliding away from her body to his side. The man continued forward towards the staircase as he took in the broken mess around them. 

Then the noises from the front reached them. Curses and gasps of pain and gunfire. 

Rude’s here. Aerith thought in relief, knowing just how deadly Reno’s quiet partner could be. Her thoughts briefly returned to the shadowy guests that had hovered above. Were they a part of the chaos in the other room? 

The noise unfortunately finally drew the attention of the young man. He turned sharply, eyes growing wide at the sight of them. She returned the man’s wide eyed stare, feeling the bite of her own nails through the hold on Reno’s suit jacket. The intruder raised a gun at them, his smile thin and dirty. 

“There you are, pretty lady,” he motioned to her, “be a good girl and c’mere.”

She shook her head, pressing further into Reno’s hold. His hand gave her a gentle squeeze - a sign of reassurance - a promise to protect her. 

“I don’t think she will, scumbag.” Reno taunted. 

“Y-You-You’re…” the man stammered out, the gun in his hand trembling. 

Reno chuckled, “Yeah, I know who I am. Do you?” 

The Turks' reputation precedes him. The intruders’ face paled as the pieces began to fall into place. Aerith almost sighed in relief as the man took a step back, yet his gun remained trained on them. His eyes darted between them and the opened archway he’d come from. He seemed to weaver between doing as he was told or racing out as fast as he could. 

The chaos outside was beginning to die down. She could only make out the occasional grunt of pain as someone slammed into something in the distance. However, she could see the looming presence above swirling closer and closer.

“Gotta love my partner,” Reno teased, “he’s making quick work of your friends.”

“S-shut up.”

“Bet he’s beat their asses and has them running back to your boss with their tails between their legs.”

Aerith’s hold on him tightens, “Reno.” It’s a silent plea to not instigate the situation further, though she knows her plea fell on deaf ears. Reno couldn’t stop running his mouth once he began. 

“Shut up,” the man repeats. 

“You’re just as pathetic,” Reno snarls, “a little bitch bending backwards for his master.”

“I said shut the fuck up, jackass!” the man screamed. 

Aerith heard the safety click, a sound she’d grown familiar with due to Reno’s constant dismantling and reconstruction of his own weapon as he watched her. 

Time seemed to rush forward after that. 

The shadow overhead rushed down on them, a gunshot ringing through the room seconds later. Aerith heard a scream (most likely her own) as a warm spray of blood splashes against her cheek. The wind is briefly knocked out of her as her back collides harshly against the wall, Reno’s body slumping over her. 

He protected her, turning her away from the man and taking the shot meant for her. Horrified, Aerith stared at the intruder. The man flailed about as the shadow circled around him, preventing him from attempting to take another shot as it knocked the gun from his hand. Rude rushed through the archway, the shadow moving just as the Turk tackled the man to the ground. 

Aerith returned her attention to the man in her arms, “Reno?” she tried as she sunk down to her knees under his weight. She cleared her throat, ignoring the events around her to try again. 

“Reno,” tears began to stream down her cheeks as she took in the Turk. He still hadn’t moved, his body remaining a dead weight against her. 

“Reno...please,” she begged. As carefully as she could Aerith attempted to move him, using her own weight and strength to push him up and against the wall. Thankfully it looked as though the wound wasn’t severe. It was a clean shot near his collar bone, just missing any major arteries. Though it continued to bleed, Aerith rushed to tear a piece from her dress to press to the wound. 

A pained chuckle escaped the man as she pressed down harder, “worried about me, Princess?”

Her hands pulled back immediately. “You…you,” Aerith huffed through her tears, meeting Reno’s gaze. He flinched as he tried to adjust himself into a more comfortable position. 

“Stop,” she fussed, reaching for him once more. Nearly jumping out of her skin from the grunt behind her, she turned to see Rude hefting up the unconscious body of the intruder over his shoulders.

“Toss the bastard in the trash,” Reno gleefully exclaimed, flinching as made an attempt to stand. 

Aerith shook her head, keeping her hands on Reno as she smiled at Rude before he passed, “could you bring me my Cure materia?”

The man nodded as he continued through the open door. 

She was thankful he hadn’t stopped to ask why she couldn’t get it herself. The answer was simple. Even if it was only for a moment and she knew his injury wasn’t severe, she didn’t want to leave Reno alone.

Aerith glanced away for a moment, looking up to see the shadow that remained. It swirled quickly before vanishing through the ceiling. A small smile touched her lips. She had no idea what the thing was and normally she’d be weary and afraid of the thing, but it’d saved them. 

“Thank you,” Aerith whispered, for both the apparition and the Turk. 

“Just doing my job, princess,” Reno chuckled. “You can thank Leslie for the tip. He warned me some of Corneo’s goons had set their sights on you. They’ll get far worse than Rude’s ass kicking when the fat bastard finds out.”

Aerith smiled, pressing a kiss to the Turk’s cheek. She wondered if she imagined the tinge of pink that seemed to appear on the man’s cheeks. A soft giggle left her. Reno never blushed. 

“Thank you all the same. I’ll be sure to stop and give Leslie a flower next time I’m out as thanks.”

The red head scoffed, “you ain’t going anywhere near Sector 6. Not unless Rude or I’m there.”

“Oh really?” Aerith’s brow raised in challenge, a playful smirk on her lips now as she allowed herself to calm down from all that's happened.

“Worried about me?” she echoed, earning an eye roll and grin.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh how the remake has revitalized my love for this ship. It was never gone but I've missed it so much and all the feels have just come back full blown. I don't trust myself to try and write an actual story for these two as I really don't have the attention span for it, but I have a bunch of one-shots in mind and I think I like the idea of having a place to put them as I get time to write more. 
> 
> And hey if you ever want to reach me for anything or request something you can find me on tumblr under [Brokengem](https://brokengem.tumblr.com/)


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